GMC 1997 Safari User manual

The 1997 GMC Safari Owner’s Manual
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Seatsand Restraint Systems
This section tells you how to use your seats and safety belts properly.It also explains the “SIR’ system.
Features and Controls
This section explainshow to start and operateyour vehicle.
Comfort Controls and Audio Systems
This sectiontells you how to adjust the ventilation andcomfort controls and how to operate your audio system
Your Driving and the Road
Here you’ll find helpful informationand tips about the road and howto drive under differentconditions.
Problems on the Road
This sectiontells whatto do if you have a problem while driving, such as a flat tire or overheatedengine, etc.
Service and Appearance Care
Here the manual tells you how to keep your vehiclerunning properly andlookinggood.
Maintenance Schedule
This section tells you when to perform vehicle maintenanceand whatfluids and lubricantsto use.
Customer Assistance Information
This section tells you how to contact GMC for assistanceand how to get service and owner publications.
It also gives you informationon “Reporting Safety Defects” on page
8-10.
Index
Here’san alphabeticallisting of almost every subject in this manual. You can use it to quickly find
somethingyou want to read.

GENERAL MOTORS, GM, the GM Emblem, GMC,
the GMC Emblem and the name SAFARI are registered
trademarks
of General Motors Corporation.
This manual includes the latest information at the time
it
was printed. We reserve the right to make changes in the
product after that time without further notice. For
vehicles first sold
in Canada, substitute the name
“General Motors
of Canada Limited” for GMC
whenever it appears
in this manual.
Please keep this manual
in your vehicle, so it will be
there
if you ever need it when you’re on the road. If you
sell the vehicle, please leave this manual in it so the new
owner can
use it.
Litho in
U.S.A.
X97 10 B First Edition
ii
WE SUPPORT
VOLUNTARY TECHNICIAN
CERTIFICATION THROUGH
NationalInstitute for
AUTOMOTIVE
SERVICE
EXCELLENCE
We support voluntary
technician certification.
For Canadian Owners Who Prefer a
French Language Manual:
Aux propriktaires canadiens: Vous pouvez vous
procurer
un exemplaire de ce guide en fraqaischez
votre concessionaire ou au:
DGN Marketing ServicesLtd.
1500 Bonhill Rd.
Mississauga, Ontario
L5T IC7
@CopyrightGeneral Motors Corporation 1996
All Rights Reserved

How to Use this Manual
Many people read theirowner’s manual from beginning
to end when they first receivetheir new vehicle. If you
do this, itwill help you learn about the features and
controls foryour vehicle. In thismanual, you’ll find
that pictures andwords work together to explain
things quickly.
Index
A good place tolook for what you need is the Index
in back of the manual. It’s an alphabetical list of what’s
in themanual, and the page number where you’ll find it.
Safety Warnings and Symbols
You will find a number of safety cautions in this book.
We use a box and the word CAUTION to tell you
about things that could hurt you if you were to ignore
the warning.
A 1
I &, CAUTION:
These mean mere is something that could hurt
you or other people.
In the caution area,we tell you what the hazard is. Then
we tell you what
to do to helpavoid or reduce the
hazard. Please read these cautions.If
you don’t, you or
others could be hurt.

You will also find a circle
with a slash through it in
this
book. This safety
symbol means “Don’t,”
“Don’t do this,” or “Don’t
let thishappen.”
Vehicle Damage Warnings
Also, in this book you will find these notices:
I NOTICE:
1
These mean thereis something that could
damage
your vehicle.
In the notice area, we tell you about something that can
damage your vehicle. Many times, this damage would
not be covered by your warranty, and it could be costly.
But the notice will tell you what to
do to help avoid
the damage.
When youread other manuals,
you might see
CAUTION and NOTICEwarnings in different colors or
in different words.
You’ll also seewarning labels on your vehicle. They use
the same words, CAUTION
or NOTICE.

Vehicle Symbols
These are some af the symbols you may find on your vehicle.
For example,
these symbols
are used on an
original battery:
POSSIBLE A
CAUTION
INJURY
PROTECT
EYESBY
SHIELDING
1 CAUSTIC
~ ACID &
BATTERY
BURNS
AVOID
SPARKS
OR
FLAMES
1 SPARKOR ,\I/,
COULD
FLAME
EXPLODE
BATTERY
These symbols
are important
for
you and
your passengers
whenever your
vehicle
is
driven:
DOOR LOCK
UNLOCK
n
AIR BAG P\
OJ4
These symbols
have to do
with
your lamps:
SIGNALS e
TURN
RUNNING
* ' 0
DAYTIME -
LAMPS ' '
FOG LAMPS $0
These symbols
are on some
of
your controls:
WINDSHIELD
WIPER
WINDSHIELD
DEFROSTER
VENTILATING
FAN
These symbols
are used on
warning and
indicator lights:
COOLANT
TEMP
-
CHARGING I-1
BATTERY
SYSTEM
BRAKE
(a)
COOLANT
a
ENGINEOIL e,
PRESSURE
ANTI-LOCK
(@)
BRAKES
Here are some
other symbols
you may see:
FUSE
t
LIGHTER u
HORN t6.
SPEAKER
b
FUEL la

Model Reference
This manual covers these models:
Cargo Van
Passenger Van

Section 1 SeatsandRestraintSystems
Here you’ll find information aboutthe seats in your vehicle and how to use your safety belts properly. You can also
learn about some thingsyou should not do with air bags and safety belts.
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Seats and Seat Controls
Safety Belts:They’re for Everyone
Here Are Questions Many People Ask
About Safety Belts
-- and the Answers
How
to Wear Safety BeltsProperly
Driver Position
Safety BeltUse During Pregnancy
Right Front Passenger Position
Supplemental Inflatable Restraint
(SIR)
System
Rear Seat Passengers
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Rear Safety Belt Comfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
Center Passenger Position
(Bench Seat)
Children
Built-in Child Restraint (Option)
Child Restraints
Larger Children
Safety Belt Extender
Checking Your Restraint Systems
Replacing
Restraint System Parts After a
Crash

Seats and Seat Controls
This section tells you about the seats -- how to adjust
them, take them out and put them back in. It also tells
you aboutbucket and bench seats, power seats and
head restraints.
Manual Front Seats
-_ .
UTION:
You can lose control of the vehicle if youtry to
adjust
a manual driver’s seat while the vehicle is
moving. The sudden movement couldstartle and
confuse you,or make you push
a pedal when you
don’t want
to. Adjust the driver’s seat only when
the vehicle isnot moving.
I
2-Way Front Seat
The bucket seats can be
rearward bv the lever at the
adjusted forward or
Move the seat adjustment lever at the front
of the seat
toward the driver’s door
to unlock it. Slidethe seat to
where you want it. Then release the lever and try
to
move the seat with your body, to make sure the seat is
locked into place.

Manual Lumbar Support (If Equipped) Power Seats
(If Equipped)
If you have this feature, there will be a control pad on the
inboard side
of the driver and passenger bucket seats.
If you have this feature, there will be a knob on the
inboard side
of the driver and passenger bucket seats.
Turn the knob toward the front of the vehicle to increase
lumbar support. Turn the knob toward the rear of the
vehicle to decrease lumbar support.
The front control makes the front of the seat
go up
and down.
The rear control makes the rear of the seat go up
and down.
The center control makes the whole seat go forward,
rearward, up ordown.
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Reclining Seatbacks
There is a lever on the inside of the seattoadjust the seatback.
You can adjust the seatback
by lifting the lever. Release
the lever
to lock the seatback
where
you want it. Pull up
on the lever and the seat will
go to an upright position.
But don’t have a seatback reclinedif your vehicle is moving.
I
Sitting in a reclined position when your vehicle is
in motion can be dangerous. Evenif you buckle
CAUTION: (Continued)
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up, your safety belts can’t do their job when
you’re reclined like this.
The shoulderbelt can’t do itsjob because it
won’t beagainst your body. Instead, itwill bein
front
of you. In a crash you could go into it,
receiving neckor otherinjuries.
The lapbelt can’t doitsjob either. In a crash the
belt could
go up over your abdomen. The belt
forceswould bethere, not atyour pelvic bones.
This could cause serious internal injuries.
For proper protection when the vehicle is in
motion, havethe seatback upright. Then sitwell
back inthe seat and wear
your safety belt properly.
Head Restraints
Head restraints are fixed on some models and adjustable
on others. Slidean adjustablehead restraint up or down
so that the top of the restraint is closest tothe top of
your ears. Thisposition reduces the chance of a neck
injury in a crash.
Seatback Latches (Non-Touring
Bench Seats)
The seatback lever is on the right rear of your seat.
To fold your non-touring
seatback forward,pull up on
the latch release leverwhile
pulling the seatbacktoward
the rear
of the vehicle.

After the latch has been released, push the seatback
toward the front
of the vehicle until it locksin place. To
raise theseatback, unlock the seatbacklatch by pushing
up onthe lever whilepushing down on
the upper edge
of the seatback. Move the seatback into theupright
position. Make surethe seatback
is locked when it is
back in the upright yqition.
----
I a C-ULON:
If the seatback isn’t locked,it could move
forward in
a sudden stopor crash. That could
causeinjury to theperson sitting there. Always
press rearward on the seatback to be sure it
is locked.
Rear Seats
--
I
A CAUTION:
A seat that isn’t lockedinto place properly can
move around in a collision orsudden stop. People
in the vehicle could beinjured. Be sure tolock
the seat into place properly when installingit.
1 A CA TION:
A safety belt that is twistedornot properly
attached won’t provide the protection needed in a
crash. Theperson wearing the belt could be
seriouslyinjured. After installing the seat, always
check to be sure that thesafety beltsarenot
twisted and areproperly attached.

Bucket Seats
If you have rear bucket seats inyour vehicle, they will
recline and adjust
the same way as the frontmanual
bucket seats. See “Reclining Seatbacks” earlier in this
section or in the Index.
Bench Seats
If you have bench seats in your vehicle, each seat can
carry up to three passengers.They can also beremoved
to increase storage space.
I ne center bench (if not equipped with a built-in child
restraint) and rearbench seats canbe adjusted forward
or rearward by the lever atthe front
of the seat.
Move the seat adjustment
lever at the front
of the seat
toward the passenger’s side
to unlock it. Slide
the seat to
where you want it. Then
~ release the leverand try to
move the seat with your
body, to make sure theseat
is locked into place.
The non-touring center bench seat has a pivoting
right armrest. The left armrest can also beused as a
storagecompartment.
The optional touring bench seats come with moveable
armrests, individual reclining seatbacks, adjustable
headrests and a fold-down center console.

To adjust your seatback, pull up on the lever on the
lower outside of the seat.
The center bench seatbacks will recline further back
than the rear bench seatbacks.
To raise or lower the center
console, press the button
between the beverage
holders. Only sit in the
center seating position
when the console is in
an
upright position.
For details about headrests, see “Head Restraints” in
this section.
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Removing the Rear Seats
To remove the rear seats, dothe following:
TO DETACH
BELTFOR \
I SEAT REMOVAL \
1. If you are removingthe
center seat,remove the
right lap-shoulder belt.
To do this, press thetip
of a key into the release
hole
of the safety belt
attachmentwhile pulling
up on the safetybelt.
2. If you have a safety belt
guide on your seat, pull
the safety belt
all the way
out through the guide.
3. Pull up on the seatback latch on the right rear of the
front seat.Push the seatback down until it locks in
place (non-touring bench seats only).

l 4. Lift up on the left seat release lever, then the right.
The latches
are near the floor on the rear legs of
the seat.
5. Lift up on the rear of the seat toremove the seat
assembly from the rear latch pins. Then, pull back
and lift the seat out of the vehicle.
Your seat release latch leveris sprungwith a
two-stage mechanism.
To fully release the latch, two
levels of lift effort will be required. First, a low effort
to overcome the first stage and then a moderate
effort to fully release the latch.

Replacing the Rear Seats
To
replace the rear seats,dothe following:
1. Lower the seat into position. Make surethe front
retainers are hooked onto theanchor pins.
2. Pull theseat down to latchthe rear retainers. Make
sure the seat
is locked in by pulling up and down on
the seat.
3. To raise the seatback, unlock the seatback latch by
pushing up on the latch release lever at theright rear
of the seat, whilepushing down on the upper edge of
the seatback. Movethe seatback intothe upright
position. Make sure the seatback
is locked when it is
back in the upright position.
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4. If you are replacing the center seat, connectthe right
lap-shoulder belt
to the attachment on the seat
cushion.
If you have a safety belt guide on your seat,
pull the belt through the guide before reattaching the
lap-shoulder belt to the sideof the seat. The release
hole should be facing outward.
If you installed the safety belt with the release hole
facing inward (toward the seat), slidethe plastic
cover up
so you can see the buckle. Disconnect the
seat belt. Slidethe cover back down and reinstall the
belt correctly.
NOTICE:
~~ ~~
Be sureto put the correct seats back in theproper
positions
so the safety belts will work properly.
Safety Belts: They’re for Everyone
This part of the manual tells you how to use safety belts
properly. It
also tells you some things you should not do
with safety belts.
And it explains
the Supplemental Inflatable Restraint
(SIR), or air bag system.
Don’t let anyoneride where he or shecan’t wear
a safety belt properly. If you are in acrash and
you’re not wearinga safety belt,your injuries
can be much worse.You can hit thingsinsidethe
vehicle or be ejected
from it. You can be seriously
injured
or killed. In thesame crash, you might
not beif you are buckled up. Alwaysfasten your
safety belt, and check that your passengers’ belts
arefastened properly too.